Pooing in a toilet or potty

[thereisalightanditnevergoesout]

My 3 year old DS is dry during the day and is happy to use the toilet. HE will not, however, poo in a potty or in the toilet, but only in a nappy, hiding in the corner of the room. (He will hold it and hold it and hold it until I put one on). I'm pretty sure this isn't too unusual, but I was wondering if anyone had any tips for getting him to poo without a nappy and on the loo?

Thanks in advance.

[girlywhirly]

There is a method where you involve the use of nappies, slowly removing them as the child gets more confident.

Start by allowing them to wear a nappy to poo, but must do this in bathroom/loo.

When this is established, child is to sit on the loo wearing a nappy to poo.

Next stage, the child sits on open nappy over the childs loo seat to poo.

Next stage, cut hole in nappy so that the poo falls into the loo. Then you can make the hole bigger and eventually dispense with the nappy altogether.

Use cheap value nappies for this, saving good quality ones for nights. It is often the fear of something dropping away from them that DC don't like, or the splash as it lands in the loo. You can use the same method with a potty. Also, a child may suddenly decide at any stage that they will do without the nappy, or some may take ages to move from one stage to another.

[thereisalightanditnevergoesout]

Ah - thank you, girlywhirly. That sounds sensible. I did receive the 'Poo goes to Pooland' story yesterday and for the first time in ages, he has sat voluntarily on the toilet. He didn't do anything, but even that was a huge step. Maybe combining the two (the story plus your method) might just get us there.